When you visit your doctor in anticipation of becoming pregnant, she will take a general medical history and may conduct some basic blood and urine tests, and possibly a pap smear.
She’ll probably check your weight; if you’re underweight or overweight, you may have a harder time conceiving.
If the health check-up reveals a fertility issue, don’t fret; it may just take you a little longer to conceive. And there are always excellent alternatives, from medications that encourage ovulation to artificial insemination to adoption.
Your doctor may also recommend that your partner get a check-up, including giving a sperm sample to rule out any possible fertility problems.
Before you go to your doctor’s appointment, remember to write down any questions you want to ask, so that you don’t forget once you’re there.
Here are some questions your doctor will probably ask:
- What’s your general state of health? Age, blood pressure and family medical history will be noted, with a focus on issues that could affect your fertility. This will help the doctor decide if you’ll likely need any fertility medication or genetic counselling.
- Do you or any members of your immediate family suffer from any of the following? If so, further testing may be necessary.
o Diabetes
o High blood pressure
o Epilepsy
o Thyroid disease
o Metabolic disorders
o Psychological problems (e.g. anxiety)
o Asthma
o Heart disease
o Kidney disease
- Do you take any daily medications? If so, which ones, and for what?
- Have you been pregnant before? How long ago, and did it result in birth, stillbirth or miscarriage? This can be a difficult thing to discuss, so it’s good to be prepared.
- Are your menstrual cycles regular? You may want to keep a menstrual calendar for a few months, noting the day you get your period, how long it lasts, how heavy the flow is and how many days there are between the first day of one period and the first day of the next.
- What kind of contraception do you use? What have you used previously?
- Have you ever been told you have uterine fibroids or ovarian cysts?
- Have you had any surgeries or illnesses requiring hospitalization?
- Do you drink alcohol, smoke or use any illegal drugs? If yes, how often?
- Do you regularly take over-the-counter medications, vitamin supplements or alternative medicines? (It’s very important to know which ones precisely, and what they contain.)
- Did you stop taking any medication during the last six months? (It can take several months before your body flushes out some medications.)
- Are your vaccinations up-to-date? If you’ve never had the chicken pox, you may need to check whether you’re immune. If not, you should talk to your doctor about getting the vaccine. You should also consider getting tested for measles, mumps and rubella to see if you need a booster. Another very important vaccine is the TDAP, which immunizes you against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis. Newborns are particularly susceptible to pertussis (whooping cough), and it is important that all prospective moms and dads be vaccinated to keep new babies from getting sick.
- What kind of work do you do, and where do you live? (This will help determine if you have exposure to toxins, radiation, chemicals and pollution.)
- Have you ever received a blood transfusion?
- Do you have any allergies?
- Have you ever had a sexually transmitted disease?
- Have you had recent or are you prone to urinary-tract infections?
- When was your last pap smear? Were the results normal? Have you ever had any procedures done to your cervix, such as a cryosurgery, LEEP or cone biopsy for dysplasia?
- What is your diet like?
- Are you physically active?
- Have you started taking folic acid? (Many doctors advise all women of childbearing age to take a daily multivitamin that includes folic acid.)
Further testing may be required if:
- You know or suspect that you or your partner is a carrier of a genetic illness (e.g. cystic fibrosis or sickle cell anemia).
- You or members of your immediate family have had children with genetic or hereditary illnesses (e.g. muscular dystrophy).
- You have experienced miscarriages, or had a fetus who died during pregnancy or shortly after birth.
- You belong to an ethnic group that traditionally has a higher incidence of genetic illnesses.
- You have a chronic illness, such as diabetes, epilepsy, high blood pressure or kidney disease. It might be necessary to change the type of medication you are on, or to increase or reduce the dosage.